Chief Vincent's Blog

Welcome

This is the blog for Robert Vincent, Chief of Police for the Gulfport (Florida) Police Department. Please feel free to leave comments, but keep in mind that anything appearing on this page may be subject to retention and disclosure in accordance with Florida public records law.

Please keep your posts clean and respectful. Comments are subject to review, and I do not permit lewdness, obscenity, or personal attacks.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Today is today.Today we do not live as we did yesterday, last week, last year, five
years ago or twenty years ago.Our lives
and the way we live change by the minute.No longer can we just sit and wait for something to happen good, or bad.
Everyone, you included, has a responsibility to keep the community safe.

Bad things happen everywhere, and Gulfport is no
exception. Every day in our town, people are victims of theft, burglary, scams
& frauds, and other crimes of opportunity. The truth is, however, most of
these things go completely unnoticed by the majority of people. Gulfport is a
small and close-knit community, and our police do a great job of making people
feel safe. That sense of safety is certainly welcome, but it can be exploited
by those with bad intentions.

Not only common thieves, but even organized criminals
and terrorist groups specifically target such communities. They feel as though
they can work in relative anonymity, shielded by the ambivalence of most
residents. In order to fight this threat, the community must work together in
its effort.

Neighborhood watch is what brings us together. In
simple terms, it’s about looking out for ourselves and others.Participants learn to always be on guard for
any sign of suspicious activity, problems, people and things that just do not
seem right. Our members come together to talk about what is happening, what is
different, and what is changing. Everyone comes together to learn about and
from each other.The more we know, the
more we can be prepared to handle the rapidly changing times we live in.

This concept of “watching and sharing” may be new for
many, and change is often unwelcome. This, however, is change that we can
control and use to make our lives better, safer and stronger. Neighborhood
watch is not a social club, but a gathering of citizens, residents and most
importantly, you.You can make the
difference in what happens to you and others. Please join your friends and
neighbors, come out and share, learn and get involved.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

I get a lot of questions about dogs. In particular, folks
want to know what the city can do when it comes to stray dogs or those that are
otherwise on the loose in public. Since the answer can be kind of complicated, I
thought it would be best to write it up and publish it as a kind of reference.

First, it is always illegal to allow any dog to be off leash
on any public property or on the property of another person without permission.
This is a violation of the Gulfport City Code. Any time a Gulfport officer
responds to a call about a loose dog, he or she will attempt to identify an
owner who can be held accountable. This can be easy if the dog is properly
tagged, and if the officer can catch the dog. We have some basic training and
equipment for this purpose, but we are not professional animal trappers. However,
if we can’t round up the dog in a reasonable time, we’ll have to move on to
more important matters. Also, unless there is evidence that the dog is being
aggressive towards humans, we won’t use weapons to stop the dog. Catching
strays is something we try to do when we can, but it’s simply not our mission.

Pinellas County government has an animal services unit, but
they will not pursue non-violent strays either. They will respond and collect
any stray dogs that have been caught and restrained, but the bottom line is
that there is no “dog-catcher” in Pinellas County or the City of Gulfport.

When we can identify the owner of a loose dog, officers will
check for prior violations and can issue citations for violations when
appropriate. If the report involves an attack of some kind against a person or
another domestic animal, the officer will document the incident appropriately.
When evidence accumulates to prove that a dog has repeatedly been violent, the
dog may be declared dangerous under Florida law. Once such a declaration has
been imposed, the owner may face criminal charges for future violations, and
the dog may be seized and euthanized.

In the past year, Gulfport officers have responded to 477
calls concerning issues with animals.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

You may have heard recently about a program being launched in Pinellas County that will allow certain adult offenders a chance to avoid criminal prosecution. I am happy to announce that the Gulfport Police Department is a strong supporter of this program.

Complete details have not been published yet, but the basic idea is that law enforcement officers will likely soon have the option of referring minor offenses to a diversion program rather than the state attorney's office. The goal will be to recognize that even good people make mistakes once in a while, and we want to help these people to succeed rather than to impede their progress in careers and education.

Eligibility for this program will be limited to just a few misdemeanors will be eligible, and the proposed list includes things like possession of small amounts of marijuana, petit theft, and assault or battery with no or very minor injury. A complete list has been reviewed and endorsed by all law enforcement executives in the county, but it is still pending approval by elected officials in St. Petersburg, which had already been considering a similar program that would have been implemented via city ordinance.

The program is designed to help those who make one or two mistakes; it will not be offered to chronic or repeat offenders. Officers will check criminal history records before making any referrals, and those with relatively recent convictions will not be eligible to participate. Also, there will be a limit to the number of times an individual may take advantage of the diversion program. We want people to make appropriate lifestyle changes, and if they can't do that, then they will continue to be processed in the courts.

Once in the program, those who do not comply with the terms (community service, for example) may end up being criminally charged, and they may not be eligible for future diversions. Successful completion will mean no arrest or criminal record that could show up in a background check.

As Chief of Gulfport Police, I have been at the table for every step of the development of this program, and once it comes into operation, I will ensure that our officers make use of it appropriately. I am thankful for the work the sheriff's office has done and will do to oversee the details of the program, but I am also proud that this is a product of the entire Pinellas County law enforcement community. We work very well together, and this program will be a great example of how our diverse and varied communities can work for the good of all.

Friday, August 7, 2015

The Gulfport municipal charter says that the city shall be
divided into four wards for the purpose of electing a representative
government. Boundaries for these wards are
not defined by the charter; council may alter them at any time, so long as they
maintain an equitable population distribution. While population is the only
thing where equality is required, it is only natural for residents to draw
other comparisons between the wards. One recently popular example is crime.

The police department has never routinely measured or
compared crime by ward, but online databases now allow anybody with a computer
to do just that. The result is that I am now frequently asked to explain why
there is a difference in crime between the wards. Although it’s never said, the
implication behind this question is that crime in all four wards should be
equal. The reality is that a comparison of wards based on crime is unfair and
unrealistic.

Consider the fact that for many decades, the northeast area
of Gulfport has typically experienced more crime than other sections of the
city. Some like to suggest that this is because of its closer proximity to the
much-higher-crime neighborhoods to the east. While that certainly may have some
bearing, there are other factors to consider as well. For example, all three
public schools are located in this area. That alone brings in an additional
3,000 people a day, effectively doubling the population of Ward 4. This area is
also home to our largest retail outlets, employing scores and servicing
hundreds more daily.

By contrast, Ward 1 has considerably less crime, but it is
almost exclusively residential and has no institutional or large commercial
establishments. Also, the majority of the homes are completely within
privately-owned developments where visitors are only allowed entry with
permission from those who live there.

The police department deploys its resources based on the
location of the crime, and by design, we do not allow politics or ward
boundaries to factor into those decisions. This practice explains why our patrol
zones do not align with the wards.
Three zones cover the east side, while the west is a zone by itself. This
deployment puts police officers in the best position not only to respond to
crime as it occurs, but to implement prevention and abatement strategies where
they are most needed.

If you are experiencing a problem in your area, please let
me know, or use this page
to contact a patrol supervisor directly.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Last night, I made a presentation to the City Council in
recognition of the police department’s achievement of Excelsior status as an
accredited law enforcement agency. In technical terms, this means that we have
been reaccredited five consecutive times without conditions. This is a rare and
coveted honor for those of us in the business, but for Gulfport, it is so much
more.

In our city, where policing is a part of our very thread,
this achievement represents not just the work of the paid employees at 2401 53rd
Street, but of the commitment of an entire community. Certainly I’m not saying
that every resident and business owner has been actively vying to help us to
continue to meet the standards over fifteen years of onsite reviews. I am
saying, however, that everyone has played a vital role.

Accreditation is about professionalism, and that is
represented not just in what we do as police officers but in the relationship
we have with our community. Our conduct both reflects and is reflected in those
we serve. The manner in which we go about our business has a direct impact on
how you go about yours, and vice versa. After almost 22 years of watching this
relationship develop, I can say without doubt or hesitation that I am proud of
my city and my police department. We are diverse and accepting, and we make a
conscious and collective effort to recognize and improve upon our weaknesses.
Ours is a community of acceptance, and this is most powerful for us because we
haven’t always been this way.

Recently, a member of the Facebook page for the “Gulfport
Community Crime Watch” posted a comment suggesting that Gulfport consider
bringing back something from a past we should not be proud of. Once upon a
time, our mostly-white city discouraged our black neighbors in St. Petersburg
from visiting at night. It’s said that there were signs, (official or not) that
made this message clear. While I can take no action to intervene on such comments
(the Constitution’s First Amendment says so), I am certainly entitled to
clarify my personal and professional position in my own forum.

Frankly, the
mere suggestion of including race as a factor in deciding policy is offensive
to me. It is absolutely inappropriate, and as long as I am the police chief, we
will not condone it or allow it. We concentrate our efforts on specific places,
locations, and people identified through professional crime analysis, period.
From my perspective, this is the only acceptable way to do this job.

This is probably a good time for
me to reiterate a point I tried to make in a previous blog post about crime
watch programs (http://gulfportpdchief.blogspot.com/2014/08/on-volunteer-patrols.html).
Any such programs in Gulfport are completely independent of the city and the
police department. We provide no governance, direction, supervision, or
endorsement of any kind, and the opinions expressed by members of these
organizations are theirs and theirs alone. Our role is limited to that of observing
and answering questions or requests for information. We also help to coordinate
participation by neighboring communities. In fact, the last meeting I attended,
a St. Petersburg police officer was there at our invitation.

Since the mission of crime watch
groups is generally in concert with the goals of the city, they are typically
allowed to conduct their meetings in city buildings free of charge. Because of this,
despite our independent status, the city has a responsibility to enforce
regulations against discriminatory practices. To do this without interfering
with any Constitutional rights, the city will require written facility-use
agreements, and these documents will clarify that the organizations must comply
with the city’s human rights ordinance. Any evidence of discrimination by an
organization or its members may result in the termination of the use agreement.
It is our hope that this practice will ensure a fair and respectful dialogue as
these organizations continue to work in partnership with the city.

While I cannot speak to the status
of the “Gulfport Community Crime Watch,” it is important to note that this is
not the only such group in town. Crime watch is, at its very heart, a simple
and informal arrangement between neighbors. If anyone is interested in forming
a crime watch organization anywhere in Gulfport, please feel welcome to contact
us for information on how to get started.